The Inkweaver
by Burnzs
Summary: The true quality of writing is measured by how much the story jumps off the page.
1. Chapter 1

_Naruto looked between the two enemy shinobi as they slowly made their way towards him. He struggled in attempt to jump up and prepare for battle, but his rebellious body just wouldn't respond. He wasn't sure how they had gotten the jump on him, but they had somehow injected him with a toxin that caused paralysis. It was powerful too, as it even seemed to be enough to get around the Kyūbi's usual defense. He could only watch on helplessly as the two made their way towards him._

_He frowned. He had been pestering Baa-chan for a solo mission ever since they had successfully rescued Gaara from the Akatsuki, and when she finally allows it, he dies in it. That really sucks. It wasn't even supposed to be that difficult; a simple delivery to Suna. Yet he somehow managed to screw that up too. He felt his chances dwindling as he saw the music note symbol on the Hitai-ates. Oto shinobi weren't known for their mercy, especially when it came to Konoha. He tried to move his arm again._

_It twitched._

_When he looked up again, the one on his right had gotten closer and he brought his kunai down towards the helpless blonde._

* * *

"Toby! Get down here! We have to leave soon!" I jumped as I heard Terri shouting up at me. I hated it when I got so into my writing that I lost track of everything else. I quickly saved the document before I closed my laptop and scooted back from my desk. I grabbed my satchel and headed down the stairs to meet Terri and we headed out of the house.

I have recently discovered that I love to write. I have only had practiced with writing essays and such for my creative writing class, but I didn't just stop there with my ambition. I aspire to be a great novelist when I grow up, but instead of skipping ahead and just writing a novel, I decided to practice by writing a fan fiction. That way I can see if my writing even qualifies for a book.

The choice of topic for my story was pretty obvious, as Naruto had plenty of ways that the story could go. Therefore, I decided to try to write a fan fiction of the same genre that my planned novel was. I was practicing writing a tragedy when my very loud and impatient brother pulled me away from my computer.

We were currently walking to our first day as high school sophomores and Terri was practically vibrating when we finally made our way into the educational establishment. We didn't make even it four steps before I found myself harshly shoved into a nearby locker. I strained to look up and visibly paled as a familiar blonde returned my gaze with a vicious leer.

From the looks of it, my bullying problems transferred over from last year, because apparently Trent failed senior year… again. I sighed. Last year, I was very scrawny. Due to my skinny frame and mousey brown hair, I was the main target for bullies and troublemakers, and my large, coke bottle glasses didn't help much either. Trent was one of the worst bullies and it looked like I wasn't quite out of the woods yet.

Secretly, I was harboring the desire to improve my image. I finally convinced my parents to get a nice sleek pair of glasses and I cut my hair into a neater form. I even put on a little muscle.

I kinda wished that it would have actually helped me out. I mean, I wasn't trying to become Mr. Popular, but being ignored by bullies and actually being noticed by the opposite gender would have been nice. So far, however, it was looking eerily similar to last year. Of course, it had only been the first few minutes, so there was still time to salvage the first day.

"Hey! Stop that!" My head shot over and I saw the math teacher tapping her foot as she sent Trent a disapproving glare. She ignored his lousy excuses and ushered him into the principal's office, which happen to be very close.

I bent down to pick up my fallen supplies when a dainty hand entered my view. I froze and slowly trailed my vision up the arm until I was met with a pair of cobalt eyes. There was a girl crouched down in front of me, helping me pick up my dropped items. A very _pretty _girl. She had long brown hair down to her shoulders and two long braids of it down the front. She was wearing a blue jacket over a black tank top and a red skirt.

We both stood and she handed me my things before smiling, "Hello! My name's Amber."

I shook my head to clear it, "I-I'm Toby." I inwardly cursed when I stuttered, but she didn't seem to notice my verbal slip.

"Nice to meet you, Toby. I'm new in town and I'm on a hunt for a tour guide. I have been turned down a lot today, so don't feel guilty if you can't do it."

I blinked slowly. Was she just randomly asking people to help her? That can't be safe. He inwardly sighed, but outwardly smiled, "Sure! I can help. I've lived here my whole life, so I should be able to help."

Her face lit up, "Finally! I got a guide!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm, "Unfortunately, I can't help you until the weekend, as I have a lot of planning to do for the year.

She nodded knowingly, "I get it. I can wait. I'll have to get your number, later though so I can contact you."

I nodded, inwardly cheering myself on. Amber and I traded slips of paper before we turned away from each other. As I walked away, I resisted the urge to do a victory dance. I got a girl's number on my first day. Sure it wasn't in the context that I wanted, but it was still an exciting firstie. One out of two's not so bad.

"Wow, way to go, you stud muffin. Pretty soon you'll be beating them off with a stick."

I shot Terri an annoyed look, "Where were you? Did you ditch me just as we walked into the school or something?"

He held up his hands in surrender, "I left as soon as I saw Trent heading towards you. Didn't you notice that the teacher showed up awfully quickly?"

I narrowed my eyes, "You win this round."

Terri smirked and put his hands behind his head, "This round and every other."

I sighed in mock exasperation and rolled my eyes, "Yeah yeah, let's just get to our locker and go to class."

Terri saluted cheekily, "Aye aye, Captain Stud Manly!"

I punched him in the arm and he cackled.

**XxOxX**

When he looked up again, the one on his right had gotten closer and he brought his kunai down towards the helpless blonde. Naruto closed his eyes and waited for the pain, but when nothing happened, he looked up in shock to see the two enemies frozen in time. The kunai was literally right next to him about to initiate a killing blow.

Naruto tried to move his arms against the toxin and was surprised when he actually could, and it didn't even seem like he had been poisoned. In fact, he felt completely fine. He scanned the area and was shocked to find that the two ninja weren't the only ones to freeze. The nearby wildlife was also in the same predicament, and Naruto even thought that he saw a drop of dew frozen in mid-fall.

"Okay, I don't like the looks of this."

**You have no idea.**

With that, there was a flash of light and Naruto found himself in front of his prisoner. The large nine tails waved menacingly behind the huge figure entrapped within the bars. Naruto blinked slowly, "Kyūbi?" he asked tentatively. This was actually the first time that the fox had tried to talk to him ever since the battle with Sasuke.

**Yes. It is I. I would rant about my superiority and how insignificant you are, but unfortunately we have more pressing matters. I sense the interference of an Inkweaver. What's worse is that if they had continued, you and I would have ended up dead.**

Naruto blinked slowly, but it quickly turned to determination, "What do you mean? What is an inkweaver? Why is he trying to kill me? Show me at him and I'll kick his ass!"

**YOU FOOL! **Naruto was thrown back by the force of the yell, **This is not something that can be solved simply by attacking recklessly. **He sniffed, **I'm surprised and somewhat relieved that it hasn't gotten us killed yet.**

Naruto stomped his foot and shook his fist up at the giant Bijū, "Hey! You make it sound like I have absolutely no strategy when I attack!"

The Kyūbi gave a pointed look and Naruto blushed, "Fine, Whatever. What can I do to help fix it?"

**We have to find the Inkweaver before they can finish the story and stop them. If we cannot stop them. We will surely perish.**

Naruto nodded, "Alright, What do we need to do?"

**I can use my chakra to track the location of the Inkweaver. I may be able to open a rift to where they are so that you can stop them.**

Naruto nodded, "Right! I'll do it!"

The Kyūbi rolled its eyes. With a jolt, Naruto found himself in the real world and he saw red chakra slowly leaking from under his clothes and he shuddered to wonder where it was coming from. The red swirled together and created what looked like a giant red portal. Naruto stepped through it and disappeared.

**XxOxX**

I sat at my computer, my brow furrowed in confusion and frustration. I tried to open the document to my story, but an error dialoged box popped up every time that I clicked the file. I tried one more time with no result and I sighed before pushing away from my desk in exasperation. I turned to get Terri to see if he could work his techy magic, but I was stopped when a flash of red caught my attention.

I blinked in confusion at my computer screen that began to glow a blood red color. An arm popped out of the screen and I blinked in confusion. The arm lead to a torso, the torso to a head and finally, a pair of legs. Finally, a body flopped out and landed in the middle of my floor.

I looked down at the unconscious blonde with whiskers and I rubbed the bridge of my nose, "God, I hate my life."

**End**

**A.n. For the purpose of the story, my writing is going to be the best in the story's "universe". In other words, Toby's writing is supposed to be AMAZING, regardless of the "actual" quality.**

**Side note: My new favorite exclamation is "What the juice!"**


	2. Chapter 2

I stared down at the body of the blonde in the middle of my floor in a mix of emotions. It was a mix because I could not decide which to settle on. I was caught between shock, awe, excitement, annoyance, incredulity, and, much to my embarrassment, fanboyism, for I had very little doubt that my current unwanted house guest was none other than Naruto Uzumaki. Either that or it was a really good cosplayer… with teleportation magic.

Naw, screw that, Naruto would be way cooler.

I slowly approached the blonde, cautious as I didn't want him to wake up and see me as an enemy.

"Naruto," I hissed out as to not alert others in my house.

No response.

"Naruto," I repeated a little louder.

Still nothing.

"Naruto!" I all but screamed.

The boy was the equivalent of a blonde rock. I rubbed the area between my eyes in exasperation. I was hit with an idea, but it was a bit ridiculous, so I only half believed that it would work.

"Stop him!" I shouted, "He's eating all the ramen!"

Naruto shot up, "Don't touch my noodles, you bastard!" he shouted and I sweat dropped.

Naruto quieted down and he scanned the room with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. His eyes moved slowly until they stopped and locked on me before doubling in intensity. I resisted the urge to sweat under his gaze.

"Um… hi?" I waved nervously.

It was like a string broke and Naruto took a complete one-eighty. He brightened and waved back at me, "Hi! I'm Naruto! Where am I? What's going on? Why am I here? Are you the inkweaver?"

I blinked, still trying to recover from the freight train that was a cartoon character appearing in my house. I slowly lowered my satchel to the ground before sitting on my bed, studying the boy carefully. Instead of answering the barrage of questions, I chose instead to ask my own, "Are you really Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto blinked, "How did you know my surname? Have we met?"

I shook my head, "I was just writing a story about you."

Naruto blinked slowly. What do you mean? Am I really that- Hey! What's that?"

I shook my head again in an attempt to keep up with the hyperactive blonde. Unfortunately, I was unable to stop him from picking up one of my manga books. You can probably guess which one. He thumbed through it, becoming paler with each page. Finally, he turned to me with an unreadable expression, "Why is there a book about me when I was twelve?"

I chuckled nervously, "This goes to where I was writing about you. You're kinda a fictional character in this world."

Naruto blinked, "Well, looks like Kyūbi was right."

I sighed in relief. He took it better than I thought he would. Suddenly, I found a very sharp kunai pressed to my neck and the blonde was looking at me with steely eyes, "So tell me," he began, "Why were you trying to kill me?"

I gulped nervously and resisted the urge to straighten my glasses that were made crooked by the Ninja's sudden movement, "I didn't mean anything by it. Honest. I was just trying to write a story that would effect a wide audience. I didn't do it with any malicious intent."

Naruto looked at me, searching for any lies. When he seemed to find none, he nodded and let me back down. He sent me a wide smile, which I returned with my own small shaky one, "Great! So what's your name?"

I blinked at his mood swing, "I'm Toby,"

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded his head and nodded, "Nice to meet you Toby. Got any ramen?"

I blinked again. What the hell was this? If this was truly the real Naruto, I was severely underwhelmed. I sighed, hiding my disappointment, "Could you, like, put up a disguise or something? I can tell my mom that you're from school to avoid any unwanted prying."

Naruto shrugged and made a very familiar handsign.

**XxoxX**

Moments later found me downstairs, and I did the best to hide my disgust as the now brunette black hole sucked down an unhealthy amount of my mother's no doubt fatal home cooking. Terri just looked amused and Mom just seemed to be pleased that someone was enjoying her food so much without requesting a pass to the hospital.

I would be the first to admit that my brother and I weren't exactly gentle when we pointed out that she couldn't cook for beans, and being the stubborn woman that she was, she refused to admit defeat and instead chose to cook each night until she proved us wrong.

Thankfully the symptoms only lasted until morning.

However, Naruto didn't even twitch at the large globules of what I was assuming had to be meatloaf. It disappeared just as quickly as the furry mass that was called green bean casserole and the large brown blob that was supposed to be ravioli.

I was secretly glad that I wasn't the one forced to eat the food and Terri and I shared a relieved look before turning back to Naruto with newfound respect.

"So… Naruki, was it? How did you and Toby meet? I was unaware that Toby even had any friends at school." My mother said in a saccharine voice.

"Mom!" I whined.

She didn't even bat an eye, "Did you two just meet on accident?" she continued, completely unrepentant.

Terri snickered and I sent him a dirty look.

Naruto wiped his mouth on the napkin provided before he turned to Mom with a smile, "We actually met because he offered to show me around town. You see, I just moved here from Japan due to my parents "spontaneity" and now I'm completely lost while my parents go sail around the world or something. However, I was lucky enough to overhear him offering to give a girl from school a tour and I found him later to see if I could get a guide out of him as well."

My mom and Terri sat up straight and I suddenly felt uneasy, "So he was talking to a _girl_?" she said, and I didn't like the glint that twinkled in her eye. He put her hands together in front of her face and cooed, "Aw! My little Toby's growing up!" she twittered, completely ignoring my groan of embarrassment, "Soon you'll be beating them off with a stick."

Naruto blinked innocently, completely disregarding my mother's weird behavior, "Why would he want to beat girls off with a stick? Does he practice fencing?"

Terri snorted, "Naw, man, He needs the stick to keep the girls from raping him." He said bluntly. This did nothing to settle my rising mortification.

**XxoxX**

Meanwhile, in another dimension, ten figures stood around a statue. The one with swirly purple eyes held up a hand to gain the attention of the others.

"It has come to my attention that the chakra of the Kyūbi has disappeared. I am unable to sense its chakra and I have received information from one of my spies that Konoha is in an uproar in the Godaime's search for the missing container. This is unfortunate, for while we already have the Ichibi and the Niibi, if we cannot locate the Kyūbi, then our plans will not come to pass. I want all current members centered on finding the whereabouts of the Kyūbi Jinchūriki.

"Hai, Leader-sama." With that, all but two figures disappeared, revealing the other eight to be merely holograms.

The larger, leafy one turned to the other and enquired, "Now that Pein has given his order, what are yours, Leader-sama?"

The light shone on the shadowy figure enough to reveal a red, spinning eye, and the man answered in a baritone voice, "I will find him. Make sure that the other suspect nothing of my excursion," then as if a switch had been pulled, his voice went a little high and became goofier, "Because Tobi is a good boy!"

With that, the man disappeared in a swirl of distorted air in attempt to follow the residual chakra from the subject of his hunt.

The leafy fellow smiled maliciously, "A very good boy, indeed."

**End**

**OOHHHHH! Its bout to get intense, son! You know what I mean, son?**

**Of course you do.  
**

**Real quick, I forgot to tell y'all that I don't own Naruto in my last chapter, so I'll say it now for both…**

** So… **

**I don't own Naruto...**

** and boy am I glad about that, cause I can't draw for doodle pops and the manga might be slightly less awesome if I did**


	3. Chapter 3

Amber Blinked.

Naruto Blinked in response.

Amber blinked again.

Naruto Blinked again.

Amber tilted her head to the left.

Naruto tilted his head to the right.

Amber tilted her head to the right.

Naruto tilted his head to the left.

Amber put her head upright.

Naruto put his head upright.

Amber blinked.

Naruto Blinked.

Terri snickered.

I sent him a dirty look.

"So…" I began awkwardly, "Are we going to start the tour soon?"

Amber and Naruto snapped their heads over to me away from their impromptu stare off and I resisted the urge to shudder. Then they both slowly curved their mouths upward and smiled to show teeth in the same fashion. I was starting to get a little disturbed, but I didn't know how to express my discomfort without sounding like a crazy, so I just sucked it up and gave a tremulous smile. I reached into my satchel and pulled out a handkerchief and wipe my forehead in attempt to relieve my nervousness.

Terri snickered again and I sent him a dirty look.

The four of us spent the rest of the day exploring the town. I was explaining things to the two newcomers while Amber and Naruto asked ridiculous questions that I was unsure were serious or not.

"No, Naruki, we don't use lightning rod impalement as a form of corporal punishment."

"Yes, Amber, we still have the same rules against armed robbery."

"No, Naruki, we aren't allowed to carry around a katana."

"Well, yes, Amber, it would be frowned upon if you were to rob the bank."

"No, Naruto, you aren't allowed to scale buildings just for the fun of it."

"Yes, Amber, the laws of gravity do apply to this town."

Terri snickered and I sent him a dirty look.

Amber and Naruto shared an amused look at my discomfort and they broke out in laughter. I could feel my eyebrow twitching. Terri wasn't helping.

He snickered and I sent him another dirty look. Finally we arrived in front of my house and I turned to the other two with a big grin.

"So…" I began slowly, "Any questions…" they both opened their mouths and I cut them off, "about the tour?"

Amber and Naruto sent me kicked puppy looks. I wasn't swayed.

"I have a question," Terri began, "is it normal for whirlpools to appear in the middle of the air?"

I blinked and looked over to my brother, "What you talkin about, Willis?"

Terri rolled his eyes at my reference, but still smiled a little, "I mean over there," he pointed, "I've lived here for as long as you have and I've never seen that before."

I frowned, but still turned and I was shocked to see that it did indeed look like a whirlpool was in the air. I furrowed my brow, "Where have I seen that before?"

Naruto grabbed my arm and sent me a wide grin, "That looks like Kakashi-sensei's Kamui! Maybe he's trying to find me!"

I opened my mouth to voice my response, but I found myself being pulled towards the wormhole and I decided that trying not to get sucked into the vortex took higher priority. I grabbed a nearby lamp post and held on for dear life as I could feel the suction increasing at an uncomfortable rate. I looked to the left and I was surprised to see Terri was holding a telephone pole, Amber was holding a fire hydrant, and Terri was holding onto Naruto.

"It's okay, guys! If Kakashi-sensei really sent this, then that means that I can get back home!" he tried to wrestle out of Teri's grip, but the way he was held and the fact that he was fighting against gravity made him unable to get free.

"Oh no you don't!" Terri yelled, "I've seen the movies and if I bet that if we go in there, we'll probably end up in some prison or get killed in some alien ritual or something equally weird!"

Before I could respond, my fingers slipped and Amber and Terri also lost their grips and the four of us flew into the whirlpool without even a peep to show for it.

**XxoxX**

Tobi smiled from behind the underbrush as the four unknowing teenagers made their way down the strange streets. Imagine his surprise when he followed the trail and found out that the Kyūbi Jinchūriki had been sent to another universe. He listened as the kids conversed and resisted the urge to smirk at the ignorance of the container and his friends.

It shouldn't be too late, so he just had to get the Jinchūriki back to his own world. He waited for the group to stop before he activated his Kamui and made a vortex appear in front of the oblivious group. He would have just sucked the Kyūbi container and taken off without the other three noticing, but apparently, one was more observant than he had expected and pointed out his vortex before it could completely sneak up on them, so he definitely didn't plan on them grabbing onto the terrain to keep the boy from being pulled in, so he had no choice but to increase the suction of the whirlpool.

He tried to shut the technique off before he could suck in all four of them, but they were clumped together and he couldn't without injuring if not outright killing the Jinchūriki. He sighed, but let the vortex close onto the four teens. He had nothing to worry about, though because they were merely civilians, and the four of them were going to be sent to the Akatsuki prison, so there wouldn't be any trouble. He smiled devilishly under his mask before he put his hand up and disappeared into a swirling vortex.

**End**

**Sorry for the short chapter. I kinda don't know what I'm doing, so you're all gonna get an unplanned hot mess! Oh! Also, I don't own Diff'rent Strokes., and I really like the term, Inkweaver. I tried looking it up on google, but I didn't find it in anything that I've read, so I think it's original, but it sounds too good, so just in case, I'm willing to relinquish my claim over the term if its already been marketed.**


	4. Chapter 4

I looked around the room. I wasn't exactly sure what the hell was going on, but I was definitely close to freaking out. All I saw was white. No one was anywhere for miles, and the echoic landscape wasn't doing any help on my sanity, either. I looked around frantically in search of another soul. I hated being alone. It reminded me of those many years at the orphanage.

I shook my head to rid myself of the memories. Ever since Mom took me in, I didn't have to worry about that anymore. I had to push the bad memories back for the good ones: The first day that I met my new brother, Terri, the first family outing, my first computer. I could feel my worries slipped away and my mind was cleared enough for me to assess the situation.

**Well, it's about time.**

I froze. The _very_ familiar demonic voice was something that I never thought I would hear in real life. I didn't know if it was better or worse that the voice was coming from behind me. My knees suddenly felt very weak, and it took all my will power not to collapse right there. Instead, I slowly turned around and my vision suddenly became very red and… fuzzy.

**Now that I have your attention, I think I could probably explain your part in this **_**story. **_I would not understand until much later why he said the word with such venom. **Currently, you and my container are being sent to a maximum security Akatsuki prison that will be impossible for him to escape. We are going to need you to escape.**

"Me?" I didn't even try to hide the incredulity, "I'm not anything special. How could I help?"

The Kyūbi rolled his gigantic eyes. **I'm sure that you heard when Naruto asked you if you were the Inkweaver. Well, I need you to use your inkweaving abilities and provide us with an escape.**

The Kyūbi's form flickered for a moment and I suddenly realized that the Kyūbi in front of me looked more like a projection than an actual being. **Damn. My container is about to wake up. I'm out of time. **He looked at me intently, and I realized that what was about to be said was very important, so I listened carefully.** You aren't as plain as you may think. Try writing something.**

With that, the Kyūbi disappeared. I gave the empty space a flat look. Damn demon foxes and their cryptic messages. What the hell was that about? My shoulders sagged again. And I was back to being alone again. Great. Though on the bright side, the Kyūbi gave me the impression that I was unconscious at the moment.

That was when I felt a jolt. It was like someone was shaking me. My eyes shot open and I was met with a very different pair of blue eyes, but they were filled with worry. Apparently, from the looks of it, Terri had woken up, freaked out, then woke me up. He and I may have been the same age, but my mannerisms and submissive nature projected more of a younger brother image and he and I were all too happy to fall into the brotherly roles we were given.

Unfortunately, this was one of those times where being the younger brother was more trouble than it was worth. Before I could even blink, Terri transformed into what I liked to call his "doting" mode. For some reason, he felt that being the older brother meant that he was supposed to protect me from every little bit of harm and so he took it upon himself to make sure that I was alright whenever he thought that I might get hurt. Thankfully, I only had to worry about that when he entered this mode. He knew that there were inappropriate times to dote.

I had to sit there and answer is questions as he assessed my physical condition. Naruto and Amber were watching on from the side and both were rolling their eyes at his actions. I ignored them and let him finish up. They had no way of knowing that if I had tried to stop him before he was satisfied, then he would have gotten even more overbearing, and if what the Kyūbi said was true, we would need to be prepared for this prison.

I scanned the room to see that, yes, we were indeed in a prison cell. I turned to Naruto, since I figured that he was used to this kinda confinement since he was a ninja and all, "What do we do?"

Naruto blinked slowly then pointed to himself, "Me? Why are you asking me?"

My eyebrow twitched, "You _are _a ninja. Shouldn't you be prepared for situations like this?"

"What?" the question came from two parts of the cell and I winced. I forgot that those two didn't know about that part.

I chuckled nervously, "I kinda lied about who he was. His name isn't Naruki, its Naruto."

Amber shrugged, "Alright."

Terri nodded, "Gotcha."

I blinked slowly, "That's it?"

Amber shrugged, "It explains the names that Naruto said before we were sucked into the vortex plus, Hello… Kamui? The interdimensional jutsu? Not too much of a stretch of the imagination that it sent him to our universe."

Terri shrugged in agreement, "I may not be an obsessive follower of the series like you, but I have seen enough to know that what she said isn't too hard to comprehend."

I blinked, "Well alright then."

Terri nodded his acceptance, "So now we have to figure a way to escape."

I blinked, "The Kyūbi told me to write something."

Naruto pounded his fist into his palm, "Oh yeah! Kyūbi said that you could write stuff and make it real."

I blinked, "How does that work? My writing's not even that good. I only just recently took a creative writing class so I still need more practice."

Naruto scratched his head, "I don't know much about what he meant. I usually leave pissed, confused, or a combination of both when I talk to him."

I shrugged. I figured that I really didn't have much to lose. I reached into my satchel and pulled out my drafting notebook. It was just too bad that I didn't have my laptop.

I pulled my knees up and made a pseudo-desk and began writing.

* * *

_The four unsuspecting kids in the prison cell were happily oblivious to the fate that was about to befall them, for out of the shadows came a large, terrifying-_

* * *

"Hold on!" Terri interrupted my writing, "If this really does work, that's a terrible way to begin our escape."

I frowned up at him, "It's just a test run. I just want to see if it works? Besides, don't you know that writers hate it when you read their rough drafts over their shoulders?"

I shooed him away, but he still looked uneasy. I inwardly snorted, but finished the draft. When I was done, I looked up, "So when does it start? Am I supposed to say some magical phrase or-,"

Suddenly, a giant wave of water came out of the shadow and completely filled the room before running out of the bars and disappearing into a different shadow.

Terry spat some water out of his mouth and tried to wring out his sopping wet sleeves, "Ha ha. Very funny," he then noticed that I was the only one who wasn't wet, so he amended his statement, "In fact, it was so funny that you deserve a hug!"

I jumped back laughing, "No! Wait, you can't get my stuff wet or else I might not be able to help."

He gave me a flat look, but sighed in defeat, "Fine. You'll remain dry… for now."

Amber finished wringing out her black shirt then turned to me, "What did you write anyways?"

* * *

_The four unsuspecting kids in the prison cell were happily oblivious to the fate that was about to befall them, for out of the shadows came a large, terrifying wave of water. It completely filled the room and nothing in the room escaped. However, the kids did not drown, and somehow, they had a feeling that they were safe. The thought of drowning didn't even occur to them._

_They could each feel the water soaking them through their clothes, each having their own thoughts. Naruto of Ramen, Terri of getting revenge on Toby, and Amanda of whether or not she left the stove on at home. As soon as the room was completely saturated. The water flowed out of the room and disappeared back into the shadows, leaving not a drop in the cell besides the water that soaked the poor teenagers._

_Of course, Toby remained completely fine. His satchel wasn't even touched by the water and his clothes were all as dry as they were before the freak wave hit. Of course, no one noticed the fact and they were even oblivious to their sopping clothes. Instead, they continued to ponder on the way to get out of the cell as if nothing had even happened._

* * *

Terri looked between the paper and the writer with a flat look, "You tried to soak us and have us not even notice?"

I did my best to look innocent.

Amber frowned at the paper, "I didn't think about the stove. I was wondering if we could get waffles in Konoha."

Naruto nodded, giving that squinty-eyed thinking look, "Right, and I wasn't thinking about Ramen. I was still trying to figure out what Kyūbi meant when he was talking about the inkweaver."

"And I was annoyed, but not to the point of revenge."

I nodded, "So I guess the inkweaving doesn't let me control your minds, huh? I can dig it."

Terri shook his head, "I don't think that's completely the case. When the water first came into the room, I did think about drowning, but I just got a feeling that I would be fine, and I didn't panic."

He got two statements of agreement.

I blinked, "So I can't control minds, but I can give _suggestions_ to influence the mind," I put my chin in my palm and sighed, "This is more troublesome than its worth."

Naruto jumped up, "Okay! So that's enough thinking! Let's break out!"

I gave him a flat look, "Right…" I trailed off.

**XxoxX**

Tobi blinked in confusion. He had never heard of such a jutsu before. Of course, these kids would make terrible shinobi since they were shouting out their discoveries enough for anyone to hear. He was about to act on his discovery and go for more, but he was stopped when he felt Nagato call a meeting.

The man was foolish enough to see himself as a god, and Tobi knew that it was an undeserved title because Nagato could be beaten, unlike a real god. Unfortunately, the man had decided that he would send the members out again to look for the Kyūbi.

Tobi was about to speak up and tell Pein in his goofy way that he had found the Jinchūriki, but he was hit with the urge to keep the boy secret for a later insidious plot.

He decided to take on his idiotic persona and he and Deidara made their way to the land of tea. He would have to see about using that writing boy's gift when he got back. For now, he had an act to play out.

**XxoxX**

I sighed and put down my pen. Through experimentation, I discovered that I was unable to create something out of nothing, I could not bring back the dead, and I could not make people fall in love (don't ask). I crumpled up my newest note and shoved it into my pocket so that the others could not see it. On it, it read:

* * *

_Obito Uchiha was very excited about his catch. He was able to trap the Kyūbi Jinchūriki and now he just had to alert Nagato, and they could continue with the plan. But wait. He was suddenly hit with an idea. Why go along with Pein's plan down to the letter? He could probably use the Kyūbi brat for a later insidious plot. He felt that he should keep quiet about finding the Kyūbi._

* * *

I did not want Naruto to know that the man hunting him down was his teacher's supposed best friend. It only took some guess work to figure it out. If Naruto was gone from this world as long as he was in my reality, then Pein must have gotten nervous and he was looking for Naruto. Kamui could have been from Obito or Kakashi and taking into account that they are in an Akatsuki prison, I was guessing that Obito brought us here, and if Obito didn't tell Pein about him being found, then we could have more time before the Akatsuki went out searching for more Jinchūriki.

For now, they had an escape to make.

**End**

**A.N. Special shout out to Frostfyre Fox. This sparkling individual told me that my character development sucks. So I decided to try to fix it. I hope it makes more sense. I really tried, and I even messed with his magic powers. I realized that giving him universe bending powers was a little OP, so I decided to nerf him. K, so I hope it's not crap. Sorry its so short.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Once all of the Akatsuki members were away from the prison on their own missions, no one was around to notice the earthquake that shook the foundation._

_That is, none but the teenagers that were trapped within the building. They could only watch in horror as the building crashed around them. Amber watched the support beams in the room crash down and shatter the sink in the cell beside them._

_She couldn't help the images that filled her fear-clouded mind. She saw a flash and Toby appeared standing in place of the sink only to be crushed by the beam, then there was another flash and Toby was replaced by Terri and he was crushed instead, again, there was a flash and Terri was replaced by Naruto. He was also crushed. She saw the scene play over and over, switching with each person in her party and she barely held back the tears from this psychological torcher. Unknown to her, she had been frozen in terror by her hallucinations and a beam was falling towards her._

_Luckily, Toby had noticed in time and he pulled her out of the way and he hugged her and did his best to use his body to shield her head from any other debris. She could feel her fear leaving her, and against her better judgment, she felt an urge to look up at her savior. To her amazement, Toby's features were calm as he was hit by the falling flotsam. However, this wasn't what caught her eye. The sun shined at just the right angle to illuminate his features and her breath caught. He was beautiful, and she felt her face heat up._

"_Are you alright?" he said as the last of the building collapsed around them. Amber didn't even try to wonder why the debris had completely missed them and landed in a perfect circle around them._

_She became starry eyed and she opened her mouth to respond-_

* * *

"Did you write our escape yet?"

I yelped and crushed the paper in my hand before Amber could see what I was writing. I would have been mortified if she had actually known what I was compiling. I was just glad that I hadn't finished the scene. I found that if I didn't finish a complete stanza, then it didn't happen.

I chuckled nervously and I looked up at her dubious expression, "I'm almost done. Just give me a few moments."

She smiled at me before she nodded and turned away. I resisted the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. I began the next attempt and eventually, I came up with a turn of the story that didn't seem too ridiculous. Once I put the final touches to it, I wrote out a final and waited.

It didn't take too long before we heard a scratching noise and the ground parted and it revealed a familiar brown pug.

"Pakkun!" Naruto cheered, "How did you find me?"

The pug did the equivalent of a doggie shrug, "I have no idea. I was out in a search party with Kakashi and I was suddenly hit with this powerful scent of Ichirakū ramen, and since we were in the middle of the land of vegetables, and they don't have ramen here, I decided to follow the scent and I found this building. When I dug through and followed the scent, I came out here," he paused, "Though it's strange, now that I'm here, I can't smell you at all. Since your sopping wet, I would assume that you had your scent washed away for the moment. How is it possible that I smelled you out?"

I suddenly felt three pairs of eyes on me and I resisted the urge to shrink into myself. I chuckled nervously, "I guess my story was a bit ridiculous after all."

Terri gave me a flat look, "No kidding," but he sighed and turned to the little dog, "Is there any way that you could find Kakashi and get him to save us?"

The pug looked him over, "And who are you supposed to be?"

Terri sighed, "We were captured along with Naruto because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Pakkun eyed him in the equivalent of doggie skepticism, and Terri's shoulders drooped, "We're civilians."

Pakkun's frown deepened, "Why would civilians be captured with a shinobi?"

Terri shook his head, "wrong place, wrong time."

Pakkun wasn't satisfied with the answer, but instead of asking something else, he sighed in the equivalent of doggie defeat, "Fine, I'll get Kakashi."

Without a word more, he turned around and dug back through the floor. I sighed in relief. And that was why I always let Terri do the talking. He was more of the guy in charge than I was. Moments later found the white hair shinobi walking into the jail room. He did his best to look casual, but the relief was practically pouring off of him. Instead of pointing this out, I stayed silent and watched as he casually strolled over before he unlocked the cell.

Without even pausing to greet his missing student, He walked over to Naruto with a glowing blue palm and… punched him in the stomach. Before I could voice my confusion, a flash of blue blasted out of his body and the force pushed the rest of us over.

"The fuck?" Terri shouted, "The hell was that?"

Naruto sighed contentedly, "That's better. Chakra seals suck."

Kakashi nodded and gave the boy one of his patented eye-smiles, "I'm glad to see you are alright. Pakkun has told me that there's no one else here, so we should be able to get you out. It seems a bit strange that they left absolutely no guard for you, even if you were chakra sealed."

Three pairs of eyes turned to me and I shrunk back, "Don't look at me like that! It's not like I know the mentality of a group of super powerful ninja!"

It was then when Kakashi turned to us as if he had just noticed that we were in the room, "And who are your friends?"

Naruto perked up and ran over to me and nearly sent me flying forward when he slapped me on the back, "This here's Toby. He's the inkweaver! I was hanging out with him and his friends when we were captured by some guy in the Akatsuki. He made a way for you to track us."

Kakashi single eye locked on me and I resisted the urge to look down, "Now now? Do tell. You were looking after my subordinate while he was lost."

Naruto pouted, "I wasn't lost. I knew exactly where I was."

I didn't know if I should have been surprised when Kakashi just gave a blank look after Naruto said my home town. Terri took that time to cut in, "Well, yes, he was staying with my brother and me and while we were showing him and our other friend around town, this strange swirling whirlpool like vortex thingy appeared and sucked us into it before we appeared in this cell.

Kakashi took up a thinking pose, "Hm. That sounds like something that the Akatsuki member, Tobi, was supposed to have."

I perked up, "Toby? I swear I didn't do anything!" I appreciated it when Terri stepped in front of me protectively, even if we both knew it wouldn't do anything if Kakashi really did want to kill me.

Kakashi just smiled and gave a lazy wave, "Maa, maa, settle down, I meant a different Tobi. This one was said to have a swirly orange mask and he had a habit of sucking objects and himself into a whirlpool like wormhole," he paused, "Oh well, maybe Tsunade-sama would know something about this. We'll take you to Konoha."

Before any of us could protest, there was a poof of smoke and I suddenly found myself riding on the back of one of Naruto's clones and I looked to the left and right to see my brother and prospective girlfriend receive the same treatment.

**XxOxX**

I stepped up to the door to the Hokage's office just in time to see Tsunade's head whip towards the door. When her eyes landed on Naruto, I didn't even see her move, but when I looked over to Naruto, the blond was suddenly in a giant crater in the floor with Tsunade cracking her knuckles over him. I was surprised the floor hadn't given out beneath him.

Just as quickly, the blonde found himself in a bone crushing embrace. I resisted the urge to comment on the mood swings of ninja, instead choosing to look over at Terri questioningly. He took the initiative and he stepped forward when Tsunade put Naruto back on the ground and began to scold him profusely.

The blonde in question seemed just as confused as the rest of us, but Terri was not deterred. He didn't seem to know how he was supposed to approach a Hokage, since they didn't exist a few days ago, but he made himself appear as humble as possible and he spoke, "Um, excuse me?" he began, and the three ninja looked over to him, but he stood strong under the stares.

"My brother and friend have been stranded in fire country and we were hoping that we could get help to find a way home."

Tsunade looked over her desk at him, "And why come directly to me? You can put in a mission request form if you need an escort."

Terri chuckled nervously, "We don't know how to get back. We were transported here through a space time ninjutsu. We were hoping to find a way to get back home. We figured that a hidden village would have more knowledge on that sort of thing, and since we actually knew Naruto, why not try Konoha."

Tsunade watched Terri impassively as he relayed our story. She did not even bat an eye when he told her about how Naruto just appeared in my room. She was calm as he explained the tour of our town and the appearance of the vortex. Finally, he wrapped up the story and once he was finished, she sighed.

"I can't help you." She said bluntly. Naruto opened his mouth to complain, no doubt very loudly, but she cut him off with a glare. But almost as if unconsciously, her eyes softened and her voice lost its harsh tone as she spoke to Naruto, "Brat, I don't have the resources to help your friends," she turned back to Terri and regained her hawk eyes, "Also, I'm not running a charity case. From what you've told me, I can only conclude that you do not have the money to pay for such a high class mission. I will give you a few months to collect the money to pay for this mission, but you must find work yourself."

Terri blinked, "Well, we do have a few skills that we could offer. Amber can cook, I have wood work, and Toby can use a technique to manipulate his environment."

Tsunade didn't seem too impressed by Amber or Terri, but once he spoke of my ability, she snapped her head towards me and I resisted the instinctual flinch, "Show me what he means," she demanded.

I reached into my satchel and pulled out my drafting notebook, "Just a second," I said. Without preamble, I began writing:

* * *

_Toby could feel the eyes on him as he wrote in his notebook. He was grasping at straws for anything that would convince the scary blonde Hokage. As he wrote, the group just stared. When he was finished, to his great relief, a small wave of water came from the shadows and swirled into a vortex in the air and without getting anything wet, it shaped into a Pegasus and froze to create an amazing ice sculpture. The other occupants of the room gaped as the creation gently floated onto the ground, and Tsunade nodded in satisfaction at the ice sculpture. She was not sure how yet, but she got the idea that this ability could be used in the future._

* * *

I looked up as I finished the last word and to my immense relief, the water flowed out of the shadows and created the sculpture. I was a bit disappointed when only Amber and Terri gaped at my creation, but I did notice the spark of interest in the Hokage's eyes, and I supposed that that would have to do for now.

She nodded to me, but addressed Terri, "Very well, I can use an ability like that. I will alert you if I am in in need of your services. In the meantime, I expect you to find your own work to provide for yourself. Dismissed!"

**End**

**I wrote more and tried to build more character. Enjoy!**


	6. Chapter 6

I stared at my two roomies with growing trepidation. When we first found our apartment, I hadn't expected to run into problems so soon, but alas, it appear that the universe hates me. I watched on as Terri and Amber were literally butting heads in the living room. What was worse was that they weren't even arguing about something normal, so I had absolutely nothing helpful to add.

When we had been dismissed from the Hokage's tower the previous day, Terri had been lucky enough to get work at a weapons store as he saw metal working to be close enough to wood working and the owner was even kind enough to pay him for the first few weeks ahead of time to allow him to settle in. I was secretly surprised at the generosity.

Then as we walked, Amber decided to find her own work and managed to score a job at a local food stand. I hadn't paid attention to what she had called it because she was jumping around from excitement and I got a little… distracted. I think her squeals may have reached a new undiscovered frequency.

Then we were able to find an apartment that wasn't too small and would be easy enough to afford if we budgeted correctly. That was when we reached an impasse. There were only two rooms in the apartment, and Terri, being the chivalrous bastard that he was offered to sleep on the couch so that she and I could have the rooms.

Amber immediately took offence, screaming out nonsense about how he was calling her weak and how she didn't need no tough guy telling her how to sleep. She claimed the couch for herself, to which Terri calmly explained that he was trying to think of her privacy since she would be sharing a place with two guys. She still refused, then made some comment about how Terri probably wanted her to cook for them as well, and that was when Terri snapped and the shit hit the proverbial fan.

After some pointless arguing and name calling, I couldn't take it anymore and I left the strong headed duo to, literally, butt heads in silence that was interrupted only by the occasional growl from either Terri or Amber. As I left, I called back, "I'm gonna go 'xplore. I'll be back."

"Be back before dark!" Terri called.

"We still have to plan what we're going to do!" Amber added.

I thought that they may have finally made up, but that idea was thrown out when I heard another growl coming from Amber and Terri returned it with his own. They must have interrupted their match for dominance just to return my call… then they went back to being stupid. I sighed in exasperation before turning back to the door.

I didn't make it two steps before I was stopped when a shadow appeared in front of me. I resisted the urge to jump. I looked up at the unnerving animal mask and smiled, "Yes?"

The masked figure didn't even twitch, "The village elders wish to speak with you."

I blinked. Those old fogeys? I seriously contemplated refusing, but I was reminded that it might actually be a job so I really couldn't. I resisted the extremely tempting urge to sigh and decided instead to nod and I started forward to follow the strange fellow towards the Hokage tower, however, he seemed to have a different plan. Before I could even think to protest, the man had grabbed me and I felt like my tummy had suddenly decided to flip flop as my vision was blocked by a cloud of smoke and when it cleared, I found myself in a very familiar room with unwanted people staring me down.

In front of me sat, not the expected Hokage, but Danzō, Homura, and Koharu. I did my best to hide my discomfort. I smiled shyly at the three old fogeys and waved, "Hello?" I asked timidly, "Did you want to see me?"

Danzō waved to the seat in front of the three of them and I hesitantly sat down, "Do you mind if I take notes? I don't have very good memory."

The three nodded, but Danzō's eyes narrowed. I tried not to show my discomfort while I took out my drafting notebook. I kept my eyes on my notebook as I said, "So what did you need." I always felt more confident if I had my notebook in my hands.

"Well," Koharu began in an overly sweet grandma voice, "We have been alerted of your… special situation and we wish to help you any way we can."

I blinked slowly, still not looking up from my notebook. That was an odd reason to call me to talk to them, after all, Terri was the one in charge, unofficially.

There was a pause and I still didn't look up. Finally, Homura grunted in agitation, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

I shrugged, keeping my eyes down, "I don't really have anything to say. Are you telling me so that we can bounce ideas off of each other? If so, I'm not the right dude for the job."

I heard a shuffle of cloth and I assumed that someone was shaking their heads, "No, I think you're perfect for the discussion," The slightly deeper voice told me that it was Homura, since Danzō still hadn't said anything yet, "It's clear that you are the brains behind the outfit."

I blinked in confusion. So did they want something from me? That compliment was a bit much. I did my best to hide my skepticism. It's a good thing that I gave up on fishing for compliments a long time ago. I was silent, and the quiet became stifling.

Finally, Danzō spoke, "While I understand your desire to get home, I thought that you might instead desire to settle down in Konoha, after all, I'm sure that you have a skill that you could offer to the village."

I frowned and glared down at my empty notepad. So that was what this was all about, though I guess I should have seen it coming. I sighed, "I'm not sure that I do,"

Koharu sighed in mock contemplation, "Well, I'm sure that there are plenty of things that you could do, why I recently…"

I tuned her out and began writing as a guise of taking notes:

* * *

_Toby sat in the comfortable chair and resisted the urge to fidget as he waited for the old ninja to finally be done talking with him so that he could finally go back to the apartment. He would have preferred if they had interviewed Terri instead, but it seemed like the three elders had targeted him because of his meeker personality._

_However, he was cut from his musing by the large crescendo that came from the door. A burst of fire suddenly smashed through the door and went straight out the window before dissipating. The noise was enough to bring many shinobi running in response, even the Lady Hokage herself._

_Toby sighed in relief._

* * *

**XxOxX**

Terri sighed in exasperation as he made his way down the street. Finally, that stubborn woman gave in. But what a price! Hopefully when Toby gets home he won't be too disgruntled when he finds out when he has to share a room. Terri rubbed the bridge between his eyes. That was what he got for trying to be chivalrous. He made his past the weapons shop and was greeted by the smiling face of Shibaki-san as he walked past. He returned the wave.

Hozuku Shibaki had to be one of the strangest individuals that Terri had ever met. The crazy old coot had taken one look at him as soon as he stepped into the store and offered him a job. It was quite the scene.

**Flashback**

_Terri walked into the weapons store cautiously as not to alert anyone that he had no money. Of course, that was all rendered moot when he took a single step only to be shouted at._

"_Oi! Gaki! You want a job?"_

_Terri blinked in confusion and sent a questioning look to the old geezer behind the counter. The old man was not yet crotchety, because he stood straight with the posture of a metal worker, but the fact that the man was balding and had many liver spots betrayed his age._

_Terri just pointed to himself, "You mean me?"_

_The old guy nodded sagely, "You look like you need a job, and I just happen to have a position open since my normal worker's out on a mission. Would you be willing to take up her job and one of your own until she gets back?"_

_Terri shrugged, "Sure! Sounds good," he paused as the thought of his companions came to him, "I'm sort of new to this village, so do you think you could recommend a good apartment nearby?_

_The man laughed hardily, "Sure thing, kid, but from the looks of it, you probably don't have the money to pay for it, so hows bout I pay you for your first couple of weeks up front to help you get settled in?"_

_Terri was only more confused, but what could he really do? It was a godsend, but who does something like that? He narrowed his eyes, "What are you playing at? You don't even know me."_

_The man only smiled, "I could use the help and you could use the help. Let's just leave it at that. My name is Hozuku Shibaki, and you start in two days."_

**Flashback End**

Terri was still suspicious of the man, but for now, he should be able to handle it… hopefully. He shook his head to clear it of those dreadful thoughts. Unfortunately, he stopped paying attention and bumped into someone and the two of them were sent sprawling on the ground.

Terri quickly jumped up and offered his hand to the person and after a moment, he felt a dainty hand clasp his own. He helped his victim up and he bowed in attempt to hide his growing mortification. He hated it when he got embarrassed, as it had a tendency to get people to stop listening to him. If people no longer respected his authority, it usually caused him to run from or avoid those involved, or else he risk being really awkward.

He began to apologize profusely without looking up, but he was stopped by a feminine giggle and his head shot up and his own blue eyes were met with a set of lavender, milky ones. He choked on his own spit. Oh crap. He may not have been a prolific follower of Naruto, but he knew enough to know that the Hyūga were pretty well known for arrogance and not for forgiveness for slip-ups like this one. They were also known for their authority. Authority, mind you, that far outranked his own, so he knew he had no say here. He gulped and prepared himself.

"-sides, it was only an accident," whoops, she was already talking and Terri had completely tuned her out with his inner ranting. Thankfully, he felt confident with what he had already heard, so he sent a nervous smile at her to test her reaction.

When she did not scoff, he felt sure enough to nod politely to her, "Still, I must apologize, Hyūga-san. I wasn't paying attention where I was going." Terri was not completely sure if this was the correct thing to do in this situation, as the extent of his Japanese culture knowledge was from watching Anime at home with Toby on those nights that they both had off from work.

The girl smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, "Formalities aren't necessary, my name's Hinata, and it was my own fault for not paying attention."

Terri inwardly blanched. So this is Hinata Hyūga. He did not do a once-over, he was too scared that he would get caught, but what he saw was nice. The anime didn't give her enough credit because she was definitely a 10 on the beauty scale, and with the grace and elegance that she held, she was quite a catch.

To hide his unease, he gave a wide smile, "Hello, My name is Terri. I recently moved into town with my brother and his girlfriend," he pictured the mortification that would come from Toby if he ever heard him say that and he inwardly snickered.

Hinata seemed to be mulling over something, but when she finally came to a decision, she sent a bright smile towards him, "I was just about to go to Yakiniku Q for lunch. Would you like to join me? I could tell you about the village."

Terri blinked slowly. Wasn't she supposed to be shyer than this? Who the hell asks some random stranger on the street if they would hang out? He then thought to a very familiar brunette that he had left in the apartment… and sweat dropped. He inwardly sighed, but was resigned to his fate, however, he suddenly caught a snag.

He nervously scratched the back of his neck and closed his eyes, so he didn't see the blush that came on the Hyūga Heiresses face at the action, "I don't really have any money, so I won't be able to join you."

Hinata looked around as if looking for someone, but finally, her gaze settled on him and she gave a shy smile that was more reminiscent of the girl that Terri read about, "Wh-what if I pay for you? Would you join me then?"

Terri looked at her for a long moment as she nervously bit her lip, "Alright," he said slowly, "I think it would be fine," he sent her a more confident smile, "Lead the way."

Hinata sent him her own beautiful smile.

**XxOxX**

Hinata stormed away from Sakura's house in an attempt to hide her flustered appearance. She did enjoy the weekly Kunoichi meetings between the Konoha 11, but she hated it when the others got onto her about her crush on Naruto. How many times did she have to tell them that she was biding her time?

**Flashback**

"_So…" Ino began, sweeping her vision over the room and looking at each girl and she grinned, "Boys."_

_Hinata blinked, "What about them?"_

_Ino rolled her eyes, "We go through this every time! I'm asking about your love life of course," her eyes narrowed and she sent Hinata a sly look, "Don't tell me that you haven't snagged Naruto yet."_

_Hinata felt her face heat up and she tried to defend herself, "I-Ino! That's p-personal!"_

_Ino rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I know," she sighed in mock exasperation, "You know, as much as I hate to say it, Naruto is getting sexy and there's no way that another girl won't swoop down and steal him before you."_

_Hinata felt the color drain from her face, "D-Do you really th-think so?"_

_Ino nodded, "Yup! You are running out of time, so you better act fast."_

_Hinata went close to Ino, "How can I? The idea of talking to him! I just-," Hinata trailed off and looked away and made some indiscernible noise._

_Ino sighed indulgently, "You're just too nervous. What you need to do is get practice. Find someone in the village and take them out on a date! Then you'll be ready for Naruto!"_

_Hinata blinked in confusion, "What kind of plan is that? I don't want to go out with some random stranger! I want to go out with…" she trailed off and looked down and pushed her fingers together before she whispered, "…Naruto."_

_Ino laughed haughtily and put the back of her hand over her mouth, "Oh, I know that, Hinata-chan, I was merely suggesting that you get practice talking to a boy in that situation before you make your move."_

_Hinata thought about it for a moment, and before she could refuse, she sighed in resignation and mumbled, "How can I when no one in the village will even look at me due to my clan's reputation?"_

_Ino shrugged, "That can be easily solved, just find a foreigner that isn't familiar with the village politics!"_

_Hinata sweat dropped, "How is that easily solved?"_

**Flashback End**

And that was how she found herself in her current situation. Somehow she had to get dating experience before anyone else gets the idea to try for Naruto. But how? How was she supposed to get it when she had nothing to start with? Maybe storming off before getting some advice wasn't such a good idea. Now she had to figure this out all on her-.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly ran into someone and she fell on her butt. She was completely mortified and she knew it showed from the rising heat on her face. Her head shot up at the presence in front of her only to see a hand sticking in front of her. She blinked for a moment, but finally she grabbed the boy's hand and he pulled her to her feet… before apologizing profusely.

That reaction was… oddly familiar. It reminded her of how she would have reacted if she had been the one to run into someone. The sudden rush of memories brought a smile to her lips and an unbidden giggle slipped out and his head shot up.

He was a bit cute, with his azure eyes and his shaggy dirty-blonde hair. He definitely had potential. Of course it all left when he suddenly made a noise in the back of his throat as recognition flooded his features. She decided to attempt damage control before he got any funny ideas.

"I apologize as well. I wasn't paying attention where I was going. Besides, it was only an accident. He nodded with a nervous smile and she returned it with her own in attempt to calm him.

"Still, I must apologize, Hyūga-san. I wasn't paying attention where I was going."

Hinata inwardly grimaced at the aloof manner in which he spoke, but hid it under her smile and she nodded in acknowledgement, "Formalities aren't necessary, my name's Hinata, and it was my own fault for not paying attention."

He looked a little more nervous at the mention of her name. He must already know of her since she was the Hyūga Heiress. He looked at her face quickly before he slowly lowered his gaze to the ground. Finally, he seemed to gather up his courage and he sent her a beaming smile with his eyes closed. It was eerily familiar to another blonde that she- NO! Now was not the time to daydream about him, "Hello, My name is Terri. I recently moved into town with my brother and his girlfriend," he gained a familiar mischievous sparkle in his eyes and she couldn't help her wandering thoughts again.

She had a sudden thought. This boy acted like Naruto, had hair and eyes similar to Naruto, and kept reminding her of Naruto. Maybe he could help her gain the confidence she needed to talk to the real thing. She decided to risk it, "I was just about to go to Yakiniku Q for lunch. Would you like to join me? I could tell you about the village."

He blinked slowly as he processed the sudden enquiry and she had to resist the urge to take back her brash request. He nodded to himself, but he stopped before he could respond and he nervously scratched the back of his neck, "I don't really have any money, so I won't be able to join you."

Hinata inwardly blanched. He did that too? It was too similar to Naruto and she couldn't stop her blush at the thought of her blonde knucklehead. She did her best to push down her rising embarrassment before she spoke quickly, "Wh-what if I pay for you? Would you join me then?" Damn! All this stress brought back her stutter.

Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice, "Alright," he said slowly, "I think it would be fine," he sent her a more confident smile, "Lead the way."

Hinata sent him her own smile before she turned around and motioned for him to follow. As the two walked, they chatted amiably and Hinata was able to learn that Terri and his companions had gotten lost and where permitted by the Lady Hokage to stay in the village.

When the two of them stopped in front of the Barbecue building, she turned to move the flap, but was stopped when an explosion lit up the sky, "That was the Hokage Tower!" she said. She moved to jump, but she was stopped by the hand on her shoulder.

"Wait!" Terri cried, "Take me with you. I have a bad feeling about this, but I can't run as fast as you."

She didn't take too long to nod and she picked him up and jumped off towards the disturbance.

**End**

**I realized that you guys don't know what my kids look like, so I decided to use the POV of Naruto characters to describe them properly. If I end up misdescribing one from a description I had not realized was in a previous chapter, please let me know. I originally planned to describe Amber's day as well, but it was getting too long a wait. Sorry its so short!**

**K…bye!**


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